Improvisation #1

This improvisation starts off on a G minor chord, but swiftly switches key centres to C
minor. I like to do that a lot, as it changes the harmony from G natural minor to G
Phrygian dominant (C Harmonic Minor).

Even though I play a lot of Harmonic minor based lines, I’m still phrasing them as I
normally would a bluesy type of line. I find this is an in-grained approach that is very
comfortable for me. I suppose that comes from years and years of listening to rock
guitar players. 

I use lots of key changes and chord changes in my improvisations. They’re taken
strategically from Natural Minor, Hungarian Minor, Melodic Minor and Harmonic Minor
off of the same starting point. Basically, I can view G Minor (the chord) as G Natural,
Hungarian, Melodic, and Harmonic Minor because they all contain the same intervals
(Root, 3rd, 5th) that make up the G Minor chord. By approaching your lead work in that
way, you start to free yourself from playing the same 7 notes that would be found in
any one key or scale. New tensions are able to be fully taken advantage of because
you know where you’re grabbing them from and what chords/triads from the scale can
be used to support them. For example, I could play a G Minor Pentatonic line, but
throw in a Maj6th (E) and Maj7th (F#) and know that I’m switching to G Melodic Minor.
It’s important to note that you should memorize each of your minor scales as well as
the triads that are created from each one. 

You’ll notice that I like to do a lot of half-step bends, slides, slurs and pull-offs. I love
the way a lot gypsy-jazz guitar players approach soloing. There’s a certain intensity
they play with, while still remaining classy and sophisticated. Although I can’t play even
remotely close to a gypsy player, I still like to try and inject some of their quirks not my
lead playing. 

Have fun with this one, it was a blast to record!

Improvisation #2

This improvisation is centred around the key of G minor. I went into this one knowing I
wanted to do something with a strong sense of dynamics rather than just playing on
’10’ the whole time. I use a lot of G minor blues based lines, as well as Harmonic minor
and Melodic minor. 
I tend to rely a lot on the b5, as I really think it’s an ear-catching way to begin or end a
phrase. You’ll notice I end some of my pentatonic phrases in particular using this
interval. 

Another approach I use a lot in this improvisation is thinking of the key not only as G
Natural Minor, but also as G Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor and Hungarian Minor. You
can basically grab any tension note you want and by playing with a bluesy rock
approach, you can retain that musicality and free-time feel that a lot of rock musicians
have. It also lets you take some of the unique triads from each one of those scales and
mash them together. For example, I might want to play Gmin, but then switch to Amaj.
I can do that because I know that if I play G Hungarian minor, there’s a major3rd from
the A note, where normally (in Natural Minor) there would be a minor third. It’s
something I’m still trying very hard to develop! 

A lot of people ask me about the chords I’m using when I improvise and where I grab
them from. As I explained about, I take them from any minor scale triad structure and
blend them all together. You start to notice patterns and interesting ways of combining
things. It’s something that requires quite a bit of back tracking and studying, but it’s a
very worthwhile endeavour. As far as which types of chords I use, it’s quite simple. I
rarely play anything denser than a basic major, minor, augmented or diminished chord.
The reason for that is quite simple, too. The more you add to a chord, the less you can
play over it. The second your chord starts to thicken up with intervals and colour, you
cut yourself off from using any scale or mode that would contradict what’s in the
chord. Often, that can be most scales!

Anyways, It’s worth learning some more Minor Scales if you haven’t already done so.
You’ll have a much better understanding of some of the lines in this transcription if you
have a foundation in some of those scales. Enjoy!
Improv #3

This improvisation is based out of the key of A Minor. I’m essentially switching between
A Natural minor, A Harmonic minor and a bit of a Hungarian minor. I love the
combination of those three scales (and each of their 7 modes) because you can evoke
a lot of ’non-western' styles like Gypsy, Polka and Latin music.
At one point, I switch to a Bb Major chord. You can look at how I grabbed that chord in
two ways:
 I like to use the tritone of the V chord in Harmonic Minor (in this case Bb-E) as it
provides a very dramatic shift in the harmony but still remains ‘acceptable’ for your ear.
I’ve noticed over the years that a lot of film composers do something very similar when
trying to score a very dramatic or epic scene. The other way you can look at it is that I
changed my view of the key from A Natural minor, to A Phygrian. It’s still minor mode,
but now I can use a Bb Major chord because I know Bb Lydian is in the same key a A
Phrygian (F major). The last arpeggio in this improvisation is one I tend to favour quite a
bit. It’s basically an A Minor arpeggio with a Maj6th and a Maj7th added to give you the
core sound of A Melodic minor. I really love that sound in a rock context!

This solo is more or less on ’10’ the entire way through, so it'll will give you a good idea
of some of the faster lines I like to grab while I’m trying to play with a lot of intensity,
but still with a modest amount of gain.

I hope you can use some of these lines in your own playing!